PQ aims to match 10 years of decline in the French language

The ultimate goal is to reverse the trend that has taken hold over the past ten years, clearly indicating the decline of the French.

PQ plans to catch up in the 10-year fall that began in 2011, when 82% of Quebecers spoke French at home. According to projection scenarios prepared by Statistics Canada for the québécois de la langue française (OQLFOffice québécois de la langue française), This percentage will likely increase to 75% in 2036.

To achieve its goal, PQ rejects a series of measures considered You miss it In immigration, higher education and employment.

Among other things, it plans to lower immigration thresholds, be more severe in bilingual cities, and pressure American video giants to add Quebec content to their platforms.

Low immigration thresholds

If it comes to power in 2022, Parti Québécois not only intends to require economic immigrants to know French already when they arrive in Quebec, but it also plans to reduce immigration thresholds to levels comparable to those of the 1990s and early 2000s. .

Before Prime Minister Jean Charest raised it to an average of 50,000 immigrants a year, the thresholds under the Barrizo, Bouchard and Landry governments were between 35,000 and 40,000, which would limit the impact on the French, according to PQ.

Netflix lobby

For Leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon, the reform of Law 101, introduced by Minister Simon Julien Barrett last week, deletes culture as a focus of intervention. To give it a better place in the context of American cultural dominance, it plans to launch a new Quebec content promotion office, which is responsible for promoting Quebec series and films for streaming video giants such as Netflix and YouTube.

Faced with the impossibility of denying their existence, at least more French-speaking content in Quebec should be included.

In addition, in order to strengthen the culture here, Télé-Québec’s budget will be doubled in order to expand its mission.

There is no permit for bilingual cities

Another PQ criticism of Law 101 reform of Legault government: Lack of assertiveness toward bilingual municipalities. The bill states that they will be able to retain their status and the right to communicate in both languages ​​if elected officials pass a decision to the city council.

The government of Parti Québécois will withdraw the city’s completely bilingual status from municipalities with fewer than 33% English speaking citizens. The automatic status review mechanism will be based on linguistic demography.

Bill 101 at CEGEP

Unlike the Legault government, which wants to limit the number of French-speaking places in English-speaking CEGEPs, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has already said it is mobilizing young Pekists to enforce Law 101 in CEGEPs. Bonaventure MP Silvan Roy said he opposes the move.

At CEGEPs and francophone universities, the PQ government will also limit the number of courses offered in English. The programs will be subject to a maximum percentage of the courses are in English.

The Standardized French Test will also be required on the English-speaking CEGEPs of all students, including those who have completed their entire academic life in English.

It is prohibited to use the English language in employment

At companies, Parti Québécois wants to prevent employers from asking for English for jobs for which objective mastery of this language is not required.

According to him, the trend has taken hold. Employers almost systematically demand workers bilingual, with no apparent link to the proposed position, which is a barrier to French in the workplace. To claim in English when hiring, the employer must justify this and prove the need for it.

Parti Québécois regards Legault’s government reform of the French Charter too shy. Call it Prime Minister Reasonable compromise, Unlike PQ proposals that are eligible Extremists.